LIVE! | Helstar

by Jonna Ambur
– Senior Photojournalist –

MARCH 10, 2013 DEWEY’S PUB, SEYMOUR, CT –

At 11pm on March 10th, in a small Connecticut town, Helstar arrived and tore the roof off of Dewey’s Pub! The oldest bar in Seymour was full of die-hard Helstar fans. They couldn’t believe that a band they had listened to for the better part of 30 years, was in their town and in their bar!

In their only area performance, and for the final night of their Northeast tour, Helstar was supported by Enchanter, Sanitarius, Sunlors and Atomic Unknown. The band took several hours before their set talking with fans, taking pictures and signing autographs. They didn’t put one person off and took advantage of the small, personal venue. They appreciated everyone that came out to see them and there wasn’t a hand that went un-shaken.

Helstar brings to the table bone crunching guitar; a drum sound that would challenge any arena sound engineer; vocals that, I swear, rattled the windows. “Angels Fall to Hell,” “Dark Queen,“ “The Plague Called Man,“ “Pandemonium,“ “Good Day to Die“ and “Run With the Pack” were a few of the songs performed from their set list. It was a night to remember for everyone.

The band has been busy since their live release, 30 Years of Hel, in late 2012. Featuring 2 CDs, 1 DVD and tons of photos, videos and of course 30 years of metal each disc is over 2 hours long! In January Helstar was a part of the 7,000 Tons of Metal cruise where they joined bands like Flotsam and Jetsam, Doro, Helloween, Lacuna Coil and dozens of others.

Helstar features James Rivera (vocals), Larry Barragan (guitar), Rob Trevino (guitar) and Mikey Lewis (drums). Sadly in December of 2012, bassist, Jerry Abarca had to take a leave of absence from the band for health reasons; however, the spot was filled by Mike LePond and they have continued on their tour.